Fantasy Wizard in Training Mailbag

Alex Montag |
October 2nd 2009, 6:24 pm

Hey SIKIDS.com readers and Fantasy Football fans! The Fantasy Wizard in Training Here, bringing you the latest information. As promised, this blog is dedicated simply to answering your many fantasy questions posted as comments on my last video (CLICK HERE to watch it).

I tried to answer as many as I could! Feel free to leave any other questions, comments, or concerns as comments on this blog. I will try to get to them in future posts. Well here we go, starting with my first question…

From FoxCowboy2: I'm about to do a draft with my friends. who should my first pick be? nice hat.
There is no doubt that my number one selection should be Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings (as FootballForce109 suggested on another comment to the video). Peterson is by far the most talented running back in the league, and will post huge amounts of points consistently week after week. After Peterson, I would grab Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Turner, then maybe Chris Johnson or Steven Jackson. If all of these backs are gone by your selection, DO NOT PICK A RUNNING BACK THIS ROUND.

This is a common error - people feel the need to pick an RB with their first selection. If Peterson, Jones-Drew, Turner, Johnson, and Jackson are gone, move on to the wide receiver position. This can often be a tactic that will pay off in the long run. If you do miss on the few elite runners, then in this order, grab Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, and Reggie Wayne. Stick to these players and these players only in the first round! I can almost guarantee that one of these guys will be available. Along with guys that should be selected in Round 1, I have provided a list of the guys who should not be selected.

Whatever you do, do not pick LaDainian Tomlinson, Frank Gore, Matt Forte, or Calvin Johnson with your first choice. You may be surprised I picked Randy Moss and Reggie Wayne rather than Calvin Johnson, but think of it this way. Moss and Wayne are the number one receivers to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, two very elite quarterbacks in the league. Who’s Johnson’s QB? Oh right, rookie Matthew Stafford. A receiver can only be as good as the person throwing him the ball! If you don’t get good passes, how can you score touchdowns? It’s impossible. I don’t trust either of these guys throwing the ball for Detroit. Therefore, select, in this order, (1) Adrian Peterson, (2) Maurice Jones-Drew, (3) Michael Turner, (4) Chris Johnson, (5) Steven Jackson, (6) Larry Fitzgerald, (7) Andre Johnson, (8) Randy Moss, then (9) Reggie Wayne. Good luck in your draft!

From HalfBackHawk9: dude great video. very informative. one question, is it possible to have a good fantasy team without a star running back? the common fantasy football idea is that you need a pair of great running backs to win.
This is one of my favorite questions that is asked among my friends. Let me fill you in on a story about my own Fantasy Football league. My friends and I started up a league and I was hit with the 9th pick. Following my own rules for the first round, I simply passed on guys like Frank Gore and LaDainian Tomlinson and instead went with Larry Fitzgerald. Throughout the next few rounds, I picked up Peyton Manning, Terrell Owens (uh-oh, excuse this pick…during the draft I saw him as a sleeper!), T.J. Houshmandzadeh, then finally Darren McFadden as my first running back selection in the 5th Round. With Fitzgerald, Owens, and Houshmandzadeh at reciever, and Manning at QB, I considered myself set (it turns out Houshmandzadeh and Owens are two of this season’s biggest busts, but that’s beside the point).

This is the point of the story where I assume readers are laughing at my stupidity. No running backs until the 5th Round?! What?! Have no fear, no matter how bad your draft seems, you can always fix it by getting some late round steals or signing that free agent sleeper! Cedric Benson, Fred Jackson, Ray Rice, Larry Johnson, and Derrick Ward all joined my team in the later rounds. Yes, I was forced to endure mocking from my friends throughout the preseason, but after I silenced one friend 95-80 in Week 1 thanks to a surprise 19 points from Fred Jackson, and another friend 120-91 in Week 2 (thanks to Cedric Benson’s 14 points against Green Bay) I was on top of my standings and as happy as could be. My friends were no longer laughing at Fred Jackson, Cedric Benson, or Ray Rice, but I was laughing at LaDainian Tomlinson, Pierre Thomas and Jonathon Stewart!

I am currently 3-0 and leading my league in points scored. I did all this without selecting a running back until the 5th round, and starting three guys I didn’t pick until the 10th, 11th, and 12th rounds! So yes HalfBackHawk9, you can win in Fantasy Football without those big name running backs. Draft wisely!

From RamZinger1: Should I trade Aaron Rodgers for Kurt Warner? Do Brett Favre or Michael Vick have any Fantasy value?
These two questions are two very good ones. I will start by answering your first one: “Should I trade Aaron Rodgers for Kurt Warner?” My answer to this question is no, I wouldn’t do it. BasketballAthlete did make a key point in saying that he led the Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII, and AthleticAthletic618 is correct in saying he has better receivers, but Aaron Rodgers has one thing going for him, and that’s age. Rodgers is a new, young, kid playing in Green Bay. Right now, he is unstoppable. Kurt Warner is getting up there in age and is always at risk of getting hurt.

Warner may or may not have a better season statistically than Rodgers, who knows, but I don’t want to run the risk of him getting drilled and being sidelined for the remainder of the year. Rodgers is a safer bet, therefore I would keep him on my team. Also, so far this season, he has outscored Warner in each of the opening three weeks!

Now for your second question, “Do Brett Favre or Michael Vick have any Fantasy Value?” I would say that Vick would be a waste of space on your roster. He’s a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, a team carrying four quarterbacks including Jeff Garcia, Kevin Kolb, and Donovan McNabb, so his playing time will be limited. He could be a key factor in the Wildcat Formation that the Eagles plan to run, but who knows how often this will be used. Vick is a very talented athlete, but Philadelphia is not a place where he will have a legitimate chance of posting good fantasy numbers.

Brett Favre, on the other hand, is a guy you may want to consider signing. Personally, I don’t believe he should still be playing in the NFL (for more info on this, CLICK HERE to check out one of my recent written blogs about Brett in Minnesota), but as long as he is, nobody will know about his fantasy value. Hey, I didn’t like him last year with the Jets either, but sure enough against the Cardinals, he had a four-touchdown game and racked up 31 points one week! That’s pretty good for a quarterback, whether he is in his 20s or in his 40s! Don’t think you should start him on a regular basis, but you may want to consider him as a backup, for use when the Vikings have a great matchup or when your starter has his bye week.

From DuckDuck52: who is the best sleeper tight end? I need a guy without giving up too much. I could trade Devin Hester, Jonathan Stewart, or Ahmad Bradshaw for a tight end, someone who will get a good amount of fantasy points. Any suggestions?
DuckDuck52, no worries, I have your answer. I think this year, there is no position that has more players with potential to score some good points than at tight end. Although you have a few guys you would consider trading, I would try to get away with signing a tight end for free!

Take a look at your free agent list. There should be many guys worth signing. For example, in my league guys like Zach Miller (Oakland Raiders) Visanthe Shiancoe (Minnesota Vikings), Todd Heap (Baltimore Ravens), Tony Sheffler (Denver Broncos), Marcedes Lewis (Jacksonville Jaguars), Brett Celek (Philadelphia Eagles), and Kevin Boss (New York Giants) are all available. Any of these guys could be a productive member on my roster! If you want a tight end that is a bit of a safer bet, look into trading Jonathon Stewart for a guy like Owen Daniels, John Carlson, or maybe even Kellen Winslow.

From GiantFreak2: Who is your most overrated wide receiver? Who is the most underrated one?
Hey GiantFreak2! Let me tell you, there has been nothing more disappointing to me this Fantasy Football season than my wide receivers. I do own Larry Fitzgerald, but it’s his bye week and my other options are Terrell Owens, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Brandon Marshall. Uh oh. I assume you are looking for some guys to unload and some sleepers to sign. I am in that same position!

Anyway, to your question. “Who is the most overrated wide receiver? Who is the most underrated one?” Right away, tons of guys come to mind. Many people will assume Terrell Owens, but he isn’t my number one. Yes, he is overrated and I think he always had been, but he simply had one game with zero receptions and everyone is saying he is terrible?

Really, it is a close call, but the most overrated guy is Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals. Think about it, he’s not dominating in any fantasy league, but he manages to make the news week after week. No, he’s not hasn’t scored a crazy amount of touchdowns any week in recent memory. Instead, he was on the front pages for his Lambeau Leap into a mob of cheeseheads (no, I’m not insulting Packers fans, it’s a nickname given to Green Bay followers based on the cheese hats they wear), and made endless headlines for legally changing his last name to “Ochocinco” just so it could appear on the back of his uniform.

As for most underrated, I’d go with Steve Smith or Mario Manningham of the New York Giants. Hey, Eli Manning has to throw to someone, and he doesn’t really have many other options besides these guys. Plus, I think they are both talented, young receivers who will rack up some good points (actually, Manningham’s 21 vs. Dallas equaled almost twice as much as what T.O. produced!

Ok, that’s all I’ve got for you! Good luck with your teams for the remainder of the season!